


Date Night for One

by JustDrinkTea



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Sburb/Sgrub, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-06
Updated: 2013-01-06
Packaged: 2017-11-23 21:04:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/626504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustDrinkTea/pseuds/JustDrinkTea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day begins with promise of a day spent out on the town with a certain Mr. Strider. But as the day goes in, it seems you're going to have to work to get that time that you want to spend with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Date Night for One

**Author's Note:**

> Ignore the lack of formatting on the texts; it's not working properly for me :C

You wake up to Dave's obnoxious alarm clock ringing like it was sent from Satan himself. It's Saturday, you don't have work today, and you certainly didn't want to wake up early today.

"Daaaave," you whine, curling in on yourself as you pull the blankets close to your chin. "Go take care of your damn clock...." And you wait for him to do so.

He doesn't.

With a groan, you push yourself up, glaring at the side of the bed Dave would normally be occupying. Too bad he's not there to actually feel your frustration with him this morning. Before you can wonder where he could possibly be at 8:00 am, you crawl over to the nightstand on said blond's side of the bed and whack his clock into snooze mode before taking the effort to actually switch the alarm off.

You flop back down on the mattress for a few moments, burying your face in the sheets. They smell like Dave and that puts a sleepy grin on your face. At this point, you're very tempted to go back to sleep, but there's a little voice in the back of your mind that's nagging you to go and figure out what happened to your boyfriend today.

Rolling over, you rub at your eyes for a good couple of seconds in an attempt to get some sleep out of your system. It helps a little bit, but you feel at least ten times more awake once you've retrieved your glasses from your own nightstand and have situated them on your nose.

"Hey Dave?" you call out as you push yourself out of bed completely, your toes curling against the cold, hardwood floor once you land.

There's no response from Dave, and it strikes you as a little bit more than odd. You glance over again at his nightstand, taking note this time that his shades and phone are both gone.

Weird.

You try calling out to him again, grabbing a t-shirt off the dresser and slipping it over your bare torso; you hate walking around the apartment in only boxers.

There still isn't any sort of reply from Dave, so you go off to investigate, exiting the bedroom and shuffling sleepily into the kitchen.

What you find in the kitchen isn't your boyfriend, but a plate of food and a note in his handwriting laying next to it on the counter. The waffles and bacon on your plate are still warm, and the glass of apple juice is still chilly enough to indicate that someone had put it out recently. The food makes your stomach rumble, but you ignore it long enough to read the note;

_'john_

_if it wasnt obvious enough i made you food. happy breakfast. now heres what i want you to do for me. its real important so pay attention. eat the food. get out of your jammies. grab a jacket and meet me at the art museum by 9:00. ill be waiting for you on the second floor in the east wing. theres a new exhibit i think we should check out today._

_dave_

_ps we are now out of bacon'_

"Hm." You set the note back down on the counter, taking a fork up in its place and stabbing at the waffle. While it's not really unusual for Dave to drag you down to the art museum- he takes great interest in the photography that's so rarely displayed- it's really weird for him to take off first without you. Then of course, there's the question of breakfast- Dave hardly ever makes ramen for himself, let alone waffles for you!

You take a bite. It's actually really good.

Something's up.

\----------------------

Half an hour later and you're fresh out of the shower, battling with a pair of jeans to try and get them over your legs without falling over. Once you've got one leg in, you reach for your phone, grabbing it off the sink and checking the time. If you want to get downtown, you really should leave soon. It takes about 20 minutes to walk down to the museum and if you wait much longer to leave, you'll have to take the bus.

You really, really, really hate taking the bus.

Especially on days like this- according to the weather on your phone, it's going to be a very sunny day. But it's the high winds that has you excited. While the game left you with a few of your old abilities, what you're able to do now are parlor tricks compared to the skills you had at one point in your life.

You allow yourself a minute of nostalgia before remembering you only have half your pants on. Shoving your phone into your pocket, you pull your jeans all the way on and finish getting ready to head out.

When you leave, you make sure to lock the door behind you. The first couple of weeks living in the apartment, Dave had to drill it into your head to ALWAYS LOCK THE DOOR. It was never really a thing you had to do when you were living in a quiet, little suburb so naturally, you've had to build up the habit.

Once more, you check the time. Looks like you'll have almost exactly 20 minutes to make your way down to the museum. Perfect.

Hands shoved in your pockets to keep them protected from the cold, you stroll down the sidewalk happily. There aren't too many people out and about this morning so the street isn't very busy. As you pass by the small, local shops, you peek in at the customers through the windows.

The wind runs through your hair as you walk, teasing you. You let out a puff of air, watching the cloud fly away with the breeze. Regardless of how much you miss being part of the wind, it's always a comfort just to feel it pass by you, constantly whispering in your ear as you walk the mile and a half into town.

It's 9:02 when you arrive at the museum. You can't help but feel a little proud of yourself for arriving on time, giving a hearty smile to no one in particular as you climb the stairs up to the second floor to meet Dave.

Who isn't actually on the second floor at all when you arrive.

Your smile drops and you huff, looking around for him. For some reason, you decide to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's in the bathroom. While you wait for him to appear, you check out the exhibit he was so eager to check out.

It's photography, as you guessed- along the lines of what critics would call "artistic" and along the lines of what you would call "hipster". But upon closer inspection, you realize that you recognize some of the shots: a pair of square glasses on a table, a crow perched on a rusty fire-escape....

You grin and whip out your phone, sending a text to Dave.

EB: dude!  
EB: you never told me you actually got stuff on display!

Phone still grasped tightly in your grip, you turn your attention to a photo that looks suspiciously like the corner of your face in the morning- bedhead and all. You only get a few seconds before your phone buzzes.

TG: yeah man  
TG: some local artist deal or shit i dont know

EB: it's great!!!!  
EB: shouldn't you be here checking them out with me or something, though?  
EB: i'd like it a lot more if you were here you, know.  
TG: got bored  
TG: im at that coffee shop down the road  
EB: well come here!

You never get a response to that last text. That kind of miffs you, but there's no helping Dave's stupid stubbornness. It's something you've learned to deal with over the years.

However, you do take a good ten minutes or so to admire the framed photos up on the wall. And when you find Dave's name hanging nearby, you make sure to sneak a picture with your phone. You feel so proud, you're almost at your dad's level. That doesn't happen very often.

As you leave the museum, you shoot a quick text in Dave's direction to let him know you're on your way and to not go anywhere this time.

You know, of course, that if Dave wants to leave without you that he will.

And, of course, he's not present when you walk into the coffee shop.

This game is starting to get on your nerves. Dave is so going to get it later. He's just lucky that you can order your favorite coffee here, or you'd be pissed. Trying not to look to unhappy, you go up to the counter and place your order with the cute barista working today.

"I'll take a double espresso with Irish cream, butterscotch, and caramel, please."

The girl looks at you funny for a moment before moving to get your order. "John Egbert?" she asks.

You pause, taking a good look at her face. You're sure you've never seen her before, let alone told her your name. "Uh... yes?"

She nods. "Your order's paid for."

"Excuse me?"

"Your order's been paid for already," she repeats.

Finally you're able to connect two and two. "Tall? Blond? Sunglasses? Looks like he should gain about 15 pounds?"

That earns you a smile from the girl. She pushes some of her fly-aways behind her ear and works on your drink. "He tips well, too," she adds. She looks like she knows a secret that you don't- you wouldn't be surprised if she did.

"I'm sure he does," you say, unamused as you take your drink.

You try not to look too surprised when she also hands you a note scribbled out on a napkin. "What's this?" you ask anyway.

"From him. He said to make sure you got it."

You thank her, of course, and make sure to leave her another two dollars tip. Poor girl. Dave brought an innocent bystander into this. But as you read the note, it becomes clear that Dave has pulled the entire city into this.

_'john_

_first of all dont bother texting me because im going to ignore you. no offense dude. but here it goes. here are your instructions. should you choose to accept them you may or may not be in for the best fucking night of your life. nod if you accept._

_...youll have to tell me later if you nodded. anyway ive hidden several more notes around the city. its up to you to find them. the first one is in the german bakery on second street. ask for apple strudel._

_good luck and enjoy your coffee because i wont be paying for another one soon. that shit is expensive._

_dave'_

You flip the napkin to make sure there's nothing else written on the other side.

There isn't.

With a sigh, you leave the cafe and begin your scavenger hunt.

Needless to say, Dave takes you all over town. Each letter leads you to the next. Some of his notes are hidden under the feet of statues, one of them was tucked away in your favorite book at the library- that one was a bitch to find; the librarian had to help you out with finding the book in the first place, and then she made sure to tell you your boyfriend was a very nice man and that you two were very lucky to have each other.

You really had to resist telling that sweet, old lady that he was actually an asshole who just woke you up early this morning to go on a sad excuse of a scavenger hunt.

As you collect more and more of the ten notes he's hidden, you start to notice that he's scribbled out little 'i love yous' in the corners. If it weren't for those little words, you might've given up on the whole thing. But you know Dave. He's got something in the works.

It's 5:30 when you finally find the last one. It's given to you by the pianist after you sit through a very brief, but very well-done recital Dave slipped you a ticket for.

This one's way shorter than the others, but far more promising.

_'john_

_i had your suit dry cleaned. it should be done by the time youve read this. i also left your shoes at the cleaners. get changed and meet me at 142 tenth street. be there by 6:15._

_i love you'_

This is the first one he's replaced his signature with 'i love you'. It makes you smile pretty hardcore.

You thank the pianist, compliment him on his playing, and dart out of the recital hall. There are a lot more people out and about now that it's later in the day, so there are plenty more people for you to run into or get stuck behind as you literally run down the sidewalks. It's now more than ever that you wish you still had the ability to carry yourself with the wind. A couple of times you catch yourself trying to will the breeze to pick you up. It never really works, but you swear that you feel it tugging at your heels.

You're able to make it pretty far before you need to stop and catch your breath. The dry cleaners you and Dave use- on the rare occasions you've needed the service- is on 24th street, the recital hall being on 18th.

By the time you reach the dry cleaner's it's about 5:55. The Asian man who owns the cleaner gladly hands over your suit and shoes and even allows you to use the bathroom to change.

You've moved on from bright green and teal suits, of course. Bright blue bow ties, however, are a different story. You spend a good five minutes making sure that it's tied and situated perfectly around your neck, giving it a good tug just to make sure before doing the same to your black sleeves. You admire yourself in the cracked bathroom mirror. Your hair is a little messy, but when isn't it? Dave made sure that the rest of you looked good and that was statement enough- right down to the brightly shining cuff links.

You realize you left your jeans and sweatshirt laying on the counter back at the cleaners only when you're halfway to your meeting spot with Dave. You had made sure to transfer your wallet and phone to your suit trousers, so you suppose that it's not too much of a loss.

Dave has a way with people. He can pick them up for you tomorrow.

It's nice knowing that the blond will for sure be waiting for you this time, and the thought definitely puts confidence into your step as you walk in through the front doors of Restaurant Primavera.

Without a doubt, it's the fanciest place you've ever been for dinner. There are white table clothes over all the tables, petite candles lighting laughing faces, and the servers are dressed to the nines, for sure. You feel a little out of place, despite your own suit.

The host has been waiting for you, doubtless, and greets you with a curt bow of the head. "Mr. Egbert, I presume?" he asks in a very pompous voice that almost makes you laugh.

You didn't know people actually spoke like that. "Yeah- yes. That's me."

He then leads you wordlessly to a table in the back corner, gesturing to the table with a quiet, "Enjoy."

Dave sits angled so that he could watch the door. But now that you're hear, you can feel his gaze settled on you. "Glad you made it on time," he says as you sit down, amusement plain on his lips.

"Yeah, a little bit of a head's up would've been nice you know!" You grin, folding your hands in front of you and resting them on the table. "What was all this for anyway?"

He shrugs. "Early anniversary present." He says it so nonchalantly that it surprises you.

"That's not for another two weeks!" you protest.

The blond takes a sip from his wine glass. Damn, he really went all-out on this. "Yeah, but if I went and did all this in two weeks, then you'd know what was up. More fun this way."

"It was like I was on a date with myself."

"Yeah, but I was there in spirit," he says, emphasizing the word with spirit fingers. "Besides, I had shit to do. Like wait on the phone for an hour trying to get a reservation for this place." He leans in close, motioning for you to follow. "Do you know how hard it is to get into a swanky place like this, John? It is not fucking easy."

You give a chuckle and steal a kiss while the two of you are so close. "You poor thing," you tease, sitting back up. "You've been through so much."

"Damn right." He smirks, leaning back in his chair and looking awfully pleased with himself. "But it's gonna be all worth it. We got crab and steak and all that fancy, expensive stuff on the way. Plus, I got the good wine," he adds, nodding to the bottle resting near the table.

"Setting my standards, aren't you? I'm going to have to work hard to the shitty scavenger hunt level of romance."

"Hey. I worked hard on that." He reaches forward and takes your hand in one of his.

"I know you did," you say with a smile, taking your glass in your free hand. You clink it against his. "I know."

**Author's Note:**

> And then they ate and went home and made sweet love uvu~
> 
> But anyway! That took me forever! Wow. I think I spent a good 3 1/2 hours on this. It's been a while since I've written anything from John's POV. Hope that went alright!


End file.
